‘There can be only one Canadian champion’: Sun Peaks hosting national downhill mountain bike championships

“She’s just fast – and she can ride,” nationals race organizer Stephen Exley said. “And she’s a really good kid, too. Last weekend, she had some bad luck with the weather and she was the first one up congratulating the woman who beat her in the category. She’s a good ambassador for the sport.”

This year, 15-year-old Pretorius will compete in the U17 girls’ division and her goals are clear.

“Winning and getting a good time,” she said. “Being happy with my time and my run.”

Exley said that while prize money, raffles and giveaways add allure to the event, the most coveted prize is the Canadian sleeve.

Male and female winners in the U17, U19 and pro divisions will earn the right to don the Maple Leaf.

“It’s the sleeve that everybody wants,” Exley said. “It helps with sponsorship. It helps with recognition when you’re on camera. When you have your national sleeve, you get to wear it for that whole season and you also get automatic selection to the world championships.”

Ryder Wilson, an 18-year-old racer from Nanaimo, is in pursuit of the prized arm accessory.

“It means you’re the best rider in Canada and also when you head to the world stage, people will look at you and go, ‘Wow, that’s the Canadian national champ,’” he said.

Racers were seen lining up to catch the first chairs on Friday morning.

“There are so many trails here,” Wilson said. “There are two awesome lifts that you can come to and lap. There is a ton of good technical riding. Well, it’s [Sun Peaks] hosting the Canadian national championships, so it kind of has to be good.”

As of Friday morning, there was a thin veil of smoke permeating the air while riders whisked down the mountain and into the village base.

“It should clear out,” Exley said. “Our biggest issue is getting volunteers because down in Kamloops, it’s obviously worse than it is up here. They think it’s the same up here. We’ve had a few volunteers bow out. We need 15 volunteers each day to run the event.”

Exley said anyone wishing to volunteer can call Sun Peaks Resort guest services.

The finals are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

“We’ll have vendors and the raffle prizes and the base area is fantastic for watching the event,” Exley said. “And we have an MC who is lively.”

Kamloops freeriding pioneer Brett Tippie is the lively MC.

“The vibes on Sunday are electric,” Tippie said. “These riders are here for one run, top to bottom. They’ve been training and this is it. There can be only one Canadian champion.”

by Marty Hastings

‘There can be only one Canadian champion’: Sun Peaks hosting national downhill mountain bike championships

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